


A Logical Choice

by LillithsGarden



Series: Parenting With Logic [1]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-27
Updated: 2014-01-12
Packaged: 2018-01-06 09:27:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1105180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LillithsGarden/pseuds/LillithsGarden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the wake of Vulcans destruction Spock is struggling with the loss of his mother. After a conversation with his grandmother Spock decides to do something to honor his mother's memory.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Spock departed the briefing room. Vulcan had been destroyed in the attack by Nero five months previously. Starfleet had only now completed debriefing all staff and surviving cadets. This lack of efficiency was due to the shortage of proper staff to cover classes. Many of the surviving instructors, including himself, were taking on twice the usual work load.

It seemed like a lifetime ago that Vulcan had been destroyed. A lifetime ago in which his home planet was still alive and thriving. Complete with the peers that had shown him disdain as a child. A lifetime ago in which his mother still lived.

Her katra had been swallowed up, along with the planet and the majority of its six billion inhabitants. It did not seem logical that she had died along with the planet. The loss of life caused by the will of a single Romulan male, mad with grief at an event that had yet to happen, was not logical.

His human ko-mehk, the reason he had joined Starfleet in the end. A strong, intelligent woman, vibrant in her humanity and admirable in her determination to see him embrace both his Vulcan and human heritage, was dead.

It would have been illogical to conceive of the idea that her life would end in the manner that it did. That she had likely not suffered, for long, was a 'cold comfort' to him.

Spock now understood such human idioms. There were times when logic and facts did not offer serenity. His mother’s death was such a thing, that logic could not soothe. The broken bond he shared with her lay frayed within his mind, refusing to be soothed or healed.

Now, he understood the human emotions surrounding the death of a loved one: the human need to lash out when such a shock to the mental faculties presented itself.

Many times, during his mother’s memorial, he had wanted to challenge every human who apologized for his loss or every Vulcan who had told him they grieved with him. They did not grieve with him; not the Vulcans, who had barely respected his mother, and not the humans with useless platitudes meant to assuage their own feelings. None grieved the death of his mother as he did, as his father did.

Such words were mere lip service. He remembered his human grandmother shaking with the strength of silent tears, as she stood next to him and his father. How she accepted such platitudes with dignity. In that moment, he felt a kinship with her that had not been there previously, with her and his human family. With the aunts, uncles and cousins who had gathered, to mourn one of their own.

"No parent should have to bury their child, Spock," his grandmother had told him.

"I believe I understand your sentiment; although I must regretfully point out that there is no body to bury."


	2. Chapter 2

"Spock!" his grandmother called, as he walked into her house. Her gray curls swirled around her as she ran to fuss over him. Finding herself satisfied, after a brief period surveying him, she hugged him.

He allowed it, letting the minor waves of grief, now common in her touch, wash over him. Here was someone who felt his mother’s loss as keenly as he did, and who would not judge him for any lack of control. She let go of him, “It's good to see you, Spock."

He followed her into the living room and allowed her to gently push him into a seat. "It is agreeable to see you, too, Grandmother. I trust you are in good health?"

"I'm fine, Spock." She paused. "Have you seen any of the vids of the shuttles of refugees arriving lately, my dear?"

"I must confess that I have not been keeping track of the arrivals of the Vulcan refugees," he said. "Was there anything unusual, about them, that caused you to mention this Grandmother?"

"Not really ‘unusual’, Spock," she began, "just very sad. Most of them were kids. To see their little faces.... to think that they no longer have parents and that some have no family at all..."

"It is an unfortunate reality that many are the last of their Houses," he stated.

"I see them and I think of your mother." Tucking a lock of hair behind a rounded human ear she continued, smiling sadly. “She wouldn't have been able to bear the thought of so many children living without loving families."

Spock nodded: his mother had been as kind as she was strong. "It would have aroused her maternal instincts to witness even a single child who had been orphaned in the attack. Her compassion was just one of her many admirable traits."

"I've been trying to find something to do that honors her memory. I begin working with some of the children in the camps, on Monday. There aren't enough adult Vulcans on site to care for them all," the older woman said. "Mandy would have approved."

Spock nodded, an idea forming in his head. His mother would have gone a step further than working with refugee children. Had she lived, it was only logical that her maternal instincts would have led to her assuming the legal care of at least one orphaned child.

It would be difficult, with his position in Starfleet, but adopting a child was a logical way for him to fully honor her. Such an idea would appear illogical, to other Vulcans, he suspected. A Vulcan would perhaps adopt a child only from cultural obligation, to aid in the unbroken continuity of tradition.

It was his human side that had come to this tentative decision and that had taken this logical step. It was what his mother would, most likely, have done and therefore, it was the most appropriate way to honor her memory.

"It is highly logical, Grandmother, for you to take such action as Mother would have, were she not deceased."

His grandmother gave him a knowing look, her eyes sparkling sadly.


	3. Chapter 3

A few days following the conversation with his grandmother, and after many hours of meditation, Spock filled out the forms to initiate the adoption process. It was not guaranteed that the Vulcan Council would grant his request but he felt that he must try, if for no other reason than to honor his Ko-mehk's memory.

He looked over the application, making sure that he had answered every query sufficiently. Signing his name, he tapped the ‘send’ option and it was done. Spock felt apprehension grip him in that moment. It did not seem likely that they would grant the request. His human heritage may be seen as a flaw making him appear, in their eyes, unfit to care for a Vulcan child.

Counting backwards, from ten, he let the feelings melt away. If they deemed him unfit it was through the fault of their own narrow minds, not his. His mother, and her family, were honorable even by Vulcan standards despite how humanly emotional they were. To deny his request would be illogical but, was it not also illogical how his peers had disdained him for his human mother?

Spock needed to talk to someone; he typed the number into his Padd, waiting for it to connect. His grandmother’s face came into view. "Spock," she smiled warmly at him, "how are you, dear?"

"I am well, Grandmother. I trust your health remains optimal?" he replied.

Moira nodded, "I'm fine Spock."

"Fine has variable definitions," he said.

She rolled her eyes good naturedly at him. "I'm in good health."

Remembering that today had been his grandmother’s introduction to working with the refugee children he asked, "How did you fare, during your first day, as care giver to a large contingent of Vulcan children?" 

Her eyes lit up like beacons. "It went well, I think. The little dears are so awkwardly sweet. I don't think they quite knew what to make of me."

Moira quirked her lip and smiled mischievously at her grandson. "One of the other ‘nannies’ thought she could insult me, in Vulcan."

He felt an irrational anger settle in his gut at her words, but allowed her to continue. "I didn't let her get away with it, of course. I told her off for setting a bad example to the children; also in Vulcan. Her eyebrows disappeared clear into her bangs in her surprise." The old woman giggled.

Spock allowed his lips to quirk upwards in a small, amused smile. "I am certain that she will not make such an error again," he said. His grandmother was certainly passionate. It was clear to see how they were related. He thought back to his refusal to enter the VSA; the looks on the elders’ faces clearly showed shock, to Vulcan eyes, all because they had viewed his mother’s humanity as a disadvantage.

Moira Grayson was a strong willed human woman, unafraid to reprimand those in need of correction. Though he doubted that the Vulcan female had sufficiently learned the meaning of the impromptu lesson, he did not doubt that she would hesitate to make such a mistake again, if for no other reason than to preserve her pride. Vulcans were, after all, a proud people.

"I would hope not," the old woman said. "I can't say I didn't enjoy the look on her face but it’s embarrassing to have to scold an adult, who should know better, like that."

He conceded her point, as it was a valid one. An adult Vulcan should not require such a reprimand, after all. Even when under undue strain, such behavior was unacceptable. "Indeed." Spock paused. "I would speak with you about another matter which I am finding troubling."

She nodded, "Go ahead, dear. What's bothering you?"

Spock swallowed the nerves that threatened, illogically, to steal his ability to speak. “After much deliberation," he began, "I have petitioned the remaining members of the Council of Elders so that I may take on the guardianship of a Vulcan child. This is was what Mother would have done, and it seems the most appropriate way for me to honor her memory."

"Oh Spock..." She reached out, as if to touch the screen, but pulled her hand back at the last moment. "She would have loved that."

"I fear they may not grant the petition," he said, "my career as a Starfleet officer may prevent me from being considered an adequate parent." Allowing a sigh to escape his lips, he forged on ahead. "It is also not likely that they will consider my human heritage anything but a disadvantage in being able to properly raise a Vulcan child."

Moira glared at the thought of anyone denying her sweet grandson the right to raise a child. If the council members were of the same mind as the cupcake who had insulted her, today, she didn't doubt he was being truthful. "You’re a great candidate Spock; stable finances, logical, and caring. You have the best of both Vulcan control and human emotion. Some of these kids, they need that; the freedom to integrate emotion as a logical tool instead of as a hindrance. If The Council doesn’t see that then they're fools."

She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Some of these kids, Spock... I know it's only my first day working with them but some, you can tell, have more emotional natures then the others. Their emotions are closer to the surface, and they would suffer in traditional Vulcan homes. They need people like you, who can raise them to be the best Vulcans they can be, without that part of them suffering.”

She was correct as, even prior to the planets destruction, the more empathic of Vulcan children were more easily compromised in stressful situations. Such children would now be even less likely, than those of previous generations, to thrive under traditional Vulcan parenting techniques.

“I know that you'll think I'm projecting my feelings onto them but they asked questions, not typical of any Vulcans I've met except you, Spock. Queries about the emotions in the stories I was reading to them instead of challenging the logic of Terran literature." Moira gave her grandson a small smile. "They did question the stories’ logic of course, but it was... those kids deserve homes that understand them."

Spock nodded. His grandmother’s words were wise. There had been others, in his peer group, who showed more empathy than was traditionally allowed. Those individuals did not fare much better than he, with regard to interactions with more traditional Vulcans, from what he had observed; although it was for a different reason than why he, himself, was ostracized as a child. A Vulcan child with heightened empathy could probably benefit from the more prominent emotions in non-Vulcan literature; he would have to enquire as to how the children his grandmother was working with progressed in this area, so that he could possibly employ her methods himself IF the council allowed him to adopt.

"Your reasoning is sound. Our conversation has given me much to think about," he said. "Live long and prosper."

Moira smiled softly at him. "Peace and Long Life, Spock. Tell me when you hear the council’s decision, okay?"

"I will." he turned off the connection, after offering his grandmother the ta'al.


	4. Chapter 4

Spock was unnaturally tense, over the two week waiting period following submission of his application, whilst the Council deliberated on the merits of allowing him to be the ‘care giver’ of a Vulcan orphan.

On the fifteenth day, his grandmother contacted him. Not Moira, but... T'Pau.

“Spock! I have been appraised of your application to adopt a fully Vulcan child. Is this correct, Son of Sarek?"

"Your information is correct, Elder T'Pau. I have petitioned the Council of Elders to allow me to adopt a Vulcan child. As Vulcan-Human hybrids are rare, it is likely the child would be wholly Vulcan."

T'Pau raised an eyebrow at her grandson. "Why do you wish to adopt? You could find a Vulcan bondmate and produce offspring of your own."

"Elder... “

"This is a secure connection, Spock. You may call me ‘Ko-mehk-il’."

With a small gesture, the Vulcan equivalent to a sigh, he nodded shakily. "As you wish, Ko-mehk-il. I... I did, for a short time, consider the merits of finding a Vulcan bondmate but it became apparent that it would not be a logical step for me to take. My chances, with our population so diminished, of finding a mate comfortable with both my career AND with the fact my mother was human, are even slimmer than before the destruction of our home world."

Her eyes softened. "This has nothing to do with finding your Captain pleasing to your senses?"

"Ko-mehk-il! I am not attracted to the Captain in that manner. He is my friend." said Spock.

His grandmother’s eyes sparkled with mirth, reminiscent of stories she had told him of her younger years. "As you wish, Spock. Let us return to our previous topic of discussion."

"I am grateful for the reprieve." he said. "If my career were not an issue then no doubt my mother's human heritage still would be, to the majority of full Vulcans. As I am half human I cannot see the logic in bonding with someone who feels as such. Doing so would not change their opinion and would shame both myself and my mother's memory. Therefore, it was only logical not to pursue such a course of action. A different avenue presented itself once I was made aware of the true scope of the numbers of children orphaned by our planet’s destruction."

T'Pau nodded. "An attempt to honor your mother's memory, without dishonoring yourself. This is a most admirable endeavor. I would advise you to check your comms after we terminate this video link. It is my belief that you will find a missive from The Council with quite agreeable information therein."

Spock nodded stiffly, swallowing the unexpected lump in his throat. "I will. You will not, I trust, be offended if I choose to end the conversation now so that I can check the veracity of such a statement?"

At this, the elder Vulcan smiled; a surprisingly human smile, born of much contact with her daughter-in-law’s family, over many years. "Of course not, Spock. One must always verify information for oneself, as a matter of logic."

"Grandmother. Moira wished me inform you, as per her instructions when we last spoke, that ‘your lack of communication with her is not permissible’. Live long and prosper, Ko-mehk-il."

"Then I shall endeavor to communicate with her in a manner frequent enough to be acceptable. Peace and Long Life, Spock." The connection went dark, and Spock immediately went to his Padd to open his comms. It was not logical to postpone disappointment. Whilst he did not distrust his grandmother, he still doubted that the Council would grant his petition. So, when he saw the communication he read it, and then re-read it several times.

The missive which would change his life was simple and unassuming; incongruous with its magnitude.

 

S'chn T'gai Spock Cha' Sarek,

Your petition to adopt a Vulcan child is granted. Enclosed is the information regarding the orphaned minor with whom you have been matched. The formal hearing, to validate the adoption is to be held on Stardate 2258.287 at 09:00. Proceed to room 22B located in the Vulcan Embassy, in San Francisco, at the appointed time.

Peace and Long Life,

Council Representative Starek

 

Spock immediately opened the file regarding his proposed child. He had, it seemed, received information on one of the children who would not benefit from a wholly Vulcan upbringing. The girl’s record showed higher than average empathic, telepathic and intellectual abilities. 

Logically, he knew they had sent him the file, for such a potentially difficult child, hoping that he would either decline the placement or fail, but he found it an agreeable match. A child with enhanced empathic abilities would more greatly benefit from the lifestyle he led .

Amber eyes looked solemnly at the person taking the photograph, an indiscernible emotion in them. Emotion was still present, though, and this boded well for the parenting techniques that he had been learning from his grandmother.

The alarm to his quarters snatched him out of his reverie. Sighing, a very ‘non-Vulcan’ sigh, he signed off from his account and went to answer the door. Blue eyes smiled at him.

"Hey, Spock!"

"Captain, would you like to come in?" Spock moved aside to let the other man into the room.

Jim stepped into the Vulcan’s quarters, the door swishing shut within moments of him entering. "How've you been, Spock?"

"My status has not changed since you last saw me, at the end of my shift on the bridge. I am functioning within normal parameters."

"I know you Spock. You've been nervous. What's up?"

"As I said, Captain, I have been functioning within normal parameters. As for the matter of ‘what's up’: we have additional decks situated above our heads and, currently, they are all that is located upwards of our current location."

"You’re funny, Spock." said Jim. "I know you understand human idioms, quit playing. What's been bothering you?"

"To be ‘bothered’ I would first have to feel ‘frustration’; an emotion and, therefore, something that I do not feel, Captain."

"I know that's not true, Spock. I frustrate you all the time. You even have a special eyebrow raise that I don't see you give anyone else, when I ‘frustrate’ you." Spock raised an eyebrow. "That's the one!" crowed Jim. "So, what's bothering you?"

"I have received word from the Vulcan Council on a... personal matter."

"Everything okay?" asked Jim.

"The problem has been resolved in a satisfactory manner. Would you like to play chess, Captain?" asked Spock.

Jim sat across from Spock. “Sure! White or black?"

"You may begin."

Smiling, Jim moved a pawn. "Get ready to lose, Commander."

"Captain, I must inform you that it is statistically likely that I will be the one to win this match."

Jim smirked, "You’re one uppity Vulcan, Spock. I didn't even know Vulcans could do ‘sass’, until I got to know you."

"My mother often made note of my ‘sassiness’, as you term it, whilst I was growing up. I believe she partly attributed it to my maternal and paternal grandmothers both being strong willed and opinionated." He moved his knight.

He grinned, "Your Nanas were ‘sassy women’, huh?"

"Indeed, Captain. As they are in fact, still living, they remain able to offer that particular attitude to me and to anyone else who crosses their paths, if they so choose." said Spock.

"They sound like great women, Spock."

Spock thought about his grandmother, Moira's, indignation at the slim chances of children like his potential daughter getting the type of care they need in a traditional Vulcan household. He also considered T'Pau's time as a rebel, in her youth, facilitating her acceptance of her son's human bondmate; how the two not only considered themselves family, now, but friends as well.

"Yes, Captain. My grandmothers are very admirable examples of both human and Vulcan females, respectively." He moved his pawn in front of the king. "Checkmate."


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter for the prequel! Don't fear though, the next installment will begin soon.

"Nervous, Spock?" asked Moira.

"I am adequate, Grandmother. There is no reason for me to be ‘nervous’. You are the one experiencing anxiety." said Spock.

She adjusted his robes needlessly, looking into her grandsons eyes. "Of course I'm nervous. If those idiots get their pointy-eared heads out of their rear ends then I'll be made a Great Grandmother again, today, dear."

"The phenomenon you are describing is not physically possible. As they have paired me with a child they have deemed ‘difficult’, in order to ensure failure, I calculate only a 90% probability that I will receive custody of that child." he said.

Moira’s eyes sparkled as she looked at her grandson. "They never did realize how much like your mother and your grandmothers you are, dear. You won't fail to raise that little girl to be the best person that she can be."

"I shall endeavor to provide adequate care so that she is properly guided and stimulated."

"Of course you will. You will be bringing her to visit me, once she’s settled in, won't you?"

"I fully expect to be seeking your guidance, at frequent intervals, during this venture. It would be remiss of me to not allow her contact with someone who is a more than adequate role model, in the employment of logic and emotion together; such as you or the Lady T'Pau." he said.

Moira shook her head. "I still can't believe that T'Pau decided to stay on Earth."

"My Ko-mehk-il has always been as fond of this planet as a Vulcan could be. Her new domicile, near your own, will facilitate more contact with you, her adoptive great grandchild and myself."

"You mean she'll be able to ‘sass’ all of the poor unsuspecting humans as much as she pleases, Spock."

"I trust, Grandmother, that I do not need to remind you that my mother frequently enumerated the ways in which I took after the both of you. In addition, I hope you do not consider yourself one of these, as you termed it, 'poor unsuspecting humans'; you do recall what to expect from Elder T'Pau?"

"Oh, I remember dear. Believe me, I remember." She patted him on the shoulder. "Your mother was so proud when you joined Starfleet; T'Pau too. She enjoyed the looks on the Elders faces when you refused admission to the VSA, a great deal."

She checked her watch, "Come on, dear. Let's go in. It’s almost time to start."

They entered the chamber where the council hearing was being held. The design of the chamber was reminiscent of the larger version in which Spock's VSA Admissions Hearing had been held. A group of elderly Vulcans sat behind a raised dais looking down on the half Vulcan and the human.

"Spock, son of Sarek, you are early," said Elder T'Pau, her eyes staring down at the pair. "I do not believe we asked you to supply a character witness."

"It was only sensible to come prepared. As my father is off planet, and my Mother deceased, my maternal grandmother proved to be the most logical choice in case you did, in fact, require a character witness."

"You are a member of Starfleet. How do you expect to provide adequate care to a child, in your unbonded state?" asked Elder Voss.

"I have an extended network of acquaintances, and surviving Human family in the immediate area, that shall be able to assume care of her if the need arises. She will not be left without care and supervision."

"The child is potentially unstable. In what way do you plan to counteract this?" asked Elder Koss.

"I do not." A murmur rose among most of the elders assembled. "My grandmother works with refugee children, the more empathic of which have benefited from minor exposure to, and integration of, emotions."

"Are you proposing to raise the child as a human?" sneered another Elder.

"No, Elder Varek. Before the destruction of our home world, the majority of our planet’s small numbers of suicides were enacted by individuals that possessed more empathic abilities than the average Vulcan. It is my belief that the loss of these individuals could have been avoided, if they had been given proper instruction in understanding their emotions." His gaze was fixed unwaveringly on the small council assembled.

“It is my theory that understanding of these heightened emotions would serve empathic Vulcans well. Once they understand their feelings, they can begin to master them, through logic, as other Vulcans are capable of doing. It is merely the finer understanding that is needed, to ensure the introduction of control which they may initially lack."

Moira placed a hand on her grandson’s shoulder, silencing him. "Children whose emotions are more typical of other species need more...delicate handling. This isn't likely to be provided in a traditional Vulcan upbringing, focused on emotional suppression. Many of the children I work with, that have feelings closer to the surface, were able to pick out emotional themes in literature more easily than their less empathic counterparts."

She looked them in the eye. "No one disputes that these children are Vulcan: they are, and always will be, but their needs are different than for most of their peers. Is it logical to deny that they have other needs?"

"It is not." said T'Pau.

The look on the Vulcan faces was equivalent to shock on a human. All across the panel eyebrows rose until they almost disappeared into hairlines.

"In the light of this insight I propose that we initiate classes for the empathic children." T’Pau stated.

"Elder....” began another council member.

"Elder Koss. If we are to survive as a species, we need to do something to ensure that as many children as possible survive to carry on the different bloodlines. As of yet another, more logical, prospect has not presented itself."

"This is not the forum for this discussion." the old Vulcan said solemnly.

"Then let us put the matter of Spock, son of Sarek, and his adoption of T'Avarak, daughter of Sarren, to the vote."

"Very well," said Koss. "All opposed to this course of action?" A lone council member, who had been a known detractor of Human-Vulcan pairings, raised his hand. "All for this course of action?" The remaining council members raised their hands. Koss suspected that this was so that they would not face the wrath of the clan Matriarch of the House of Surak.

"Spock, son of Sarek, you are hereby granted custody of T'Avarak, daughter of Sarren. Report to room 122B tomorrow, at 11:45, in order to retrieve the child."

Internally, Koss breathed a sigh of relief once Spock had signed the last of the forms formalizing the adoption. Hopefully, his day would improve once this was done, though he doubted it would.

The half Vulcan and the Human left the room, a large smile on the human female’s face. Koss suppressed the urge to smile but it was only logical, when faced with the prospect of prolonged contact with T'Pau, to be relieved when one had completed a task that would hopefully minimize additional contact with her. Now he need only survive the next meeting before he could return to his rooms here at the consulate.


End file.
